Nice discussion of plasma, but there is another teeny little error here.....The gas emitted by dry ice is Carbon Dioxide--not water or steam. (and it also is not plasma)

What is true is that the cold Carbon Dioxide causes water vapor to condense--creating a visible fog.

This thread is now into 3rd-level digressions...

Condensation is the technically correct word, but a little long. "Fog" is also correct. Fog forms as the result of water vapor condensation when ambient conditions (temperature and humidity) permit it to happen, and the cold air from your freezer combining with the ambient water vapor forms the conditions needed for a small fog bank in your kitchen. It falls to the floor because cold air is, generally, heaver than warm air, and the cold draft from the open freezer door is downward. (You can confirm this by opening the door and placing your hand below the opening. You will note a cold draft.)

The fog that forms behind the engines of a plane flying at a high altitude are called "contrails," from a combination of the words "condensation" and "trail." And, of course, the water vapor condensing behind the exhaust of a car or truck on a cold morning, or above the exhaust from a power plant or cooling tower is also a form of the same type of condensation.

Where did you get these strange ideas? I mean, it's gibberish but you're stating it with apparent belief that it makes some sense.

There are three "phases" of matter assuming you choose to categorize plasma as a form of gas, but there's no sense in which a plasma may be considered a liquid or solid. For many substances, there's a special temperature/pressure "triple point" where all three forms can coexist, but this isn't an extreme temperature nor is it anywhere near where a plasma may form. Neither does the triple point have anything to do with anything at any subatomic level.

The phases of matter, including plasma, are only concerned with atomic, molecular and bulk levels. Phase changes don't affect the subatomic level in the slightest.

I would be SERIOUSLY worried if plasma came out of my freezer when I opened the door.

arnt contrails formed by the exhaust of the engine outputting particulates that give a seed for the water vapour in the air to form into droplets on.

No particulates needed. The jet exhaust contains water vapour which condenses directly (freezes at high altitudes)

What people call "steam" is water condensation, same as clouds and fog, and that "mysterious cloud" in your freezer. When the temperature drops below the dew point, water condenses out of the air.
The dew point depends on air temperature and relative humidity.

Also, the are four states for matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.

I know what the cloud is. That's not what my question was.

I don't want to open my freezer everyday and say to my 4 year old "Hey look at that water condenstion. Isn't that cool?" It would be like me boiling water on the stove and saying "Look! It's water condensation!" I would say "Look! It's steam!". Steam is the simplistic name of water condensation coming from boiling water or whatever. There has got to be a simplistic name for this cloud in my freezer. So... Let's make ths simple...

Fill in the blank as if you just opened your freezer door and you are talking to a 4 year old:

"Hey, look at all that ______________!"

Have you learned nothing from Calvin and Hobbes? You're the dad of a 4 year old! Make something up!

I dont know.. Seems deceitful.

I've been calling it fog the past few days because thats the most common answer I am getting from people, but I still dont think the term fog is entirely correct.

OK, well then: In the spirit of brevity, and following in the footsteps of those who labeled foggy pollution as "smog," I'd say something like "Temperature=0C" + "fog" --> "zero" + "fog" -> "zog" or, for non-metric children "freeze" + "fog" --> "zog"

And, if it's really cold, "zzzog" is what you'll get.

Or, if you want to stay with the "cold condensate" concept, and if the wooden shoe lobby doesn't object, you could try "cold" + "fog" --> "clog" (and, if you don't have a "frost free" freezer, clogged is what opening the door to show the "clog" will get for you. (Plus an unhappy spouse.)

Remember: English users are encouraged to coin new words when words fail them.

Hum. You know, here in Colorado, often in Winter when there's fresh snow on the ground, and the sun is shining on it, we get a lot of that zog forming. And, when there's a bit of a breeze, we get roads blocked by blowing snow and zog.

Maybe the word will catch on, eh?